Latest Insights & Research

Stay informed with the latest public health research, insights, and evidence-based analysis from our team of experts.

Resources

Seeing the Big Picture: How System Dynamics Can Transform Public Health

Public health challenges rarely have simple causes or single solutions. Obesity, addiction, pandemics, and climate change all emerge from complex systems: interacting networks of behavior, policy, economics, and environment. To make lasting change, public health leaders need tools that help them see the bigger picture. That’s where System Dynamics comes in. What Is System Dynamics? […]

Read more →
AI

The AI-Driven Infodemic Threatening Public Health

A few years ago, “publish or perish” was an academic cliché. Today, it’s being supercharged by machines. Since ChatGPT burst into the scene in late 2022, artificial intelligence has infiltrated nearly every corner of science—writing, reviewing, and even summarizing research papers. The result? A flood of AI-generated studies that could overwhelm even the most diligent […]

Read more →
Health tips

Why Connection Is Public Health’s Missing Link

“Sometimes,” a local health director recently said, “I can get someone an appointment faster than I can find them a friend.” That quiet admission captures the paradox at the heart of the new U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory, Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation. While clinical interventions like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) can help individuals manage […]

Read more →
Policy

When Cannabis Laws Change, So Do Crash Risks

Picture this: It’s 1:45 a.m. on a quiet stretch of highway. A state trooper responds to a crash that looks like a tangle of metal and glass. Toxicology reports will later show what the eye cannot — both alcohol and cannabis were involved. It’s a scene that’s become increasingly familiar across the United States, where […]

Read more →
News

Next Week in Public Health, October 23, 2025

APHA is coming up, and we’ll have more details about that soon. We’re partnering with WE in the World to share tools, strategies, and methods to help continue the work from a grassroots perspective. Here’s what’s in the research. And what’s in the news. Anti-science bills hit statehouses, stripping away public health protections built over […]

Read more →
Environment

Zero-Fare Transit: Can Free Buses Improve Public Health?

I’m a Philly guy, and our public transportation system is a mess. There’s a lot of reasons for that, but I doubt you’ll find anyone who is satisfied with SEPTA. And this is a negative for public health throughout the city. But this happens in other cities, too. On a humid July morning in Kansas […]

Read more →
Wellbeing

How a Low-Budget Campaign Saved Lives in Barnet

In Barnet, a borough in North London, public health officials faced a grim reality: three-quarters of suicides in the UK are by men, yet only one in four had recent contact with mental health services. For many, help comes too late—or not at all. In 2021, Barnet launched a bold, low-budget initiative: a mix of […]

Read more →
Wellbeing

Jealousy, Infidelity, and IPV: What Works Now

On a humid evening clinic night, a community health worker walks a couple to a quiet bench. He’s been “checking her phone.” She’s been skipping the market to avoid gossip. Their argument isn’t just about trust; it’s about power, roles, and fear. Within weeks, tension turns into controlling behaviors—and then into violence. Why this matters […]

Read more →
Health equity

Are We Measuring Health Equity All Wrong?

Picture this: a city rolls out a new school-based nutrition program. Kids are encouraged to eat more fruits and vegetables, teachers add fun lessons on healthy food choices, and the results look great—at least on paper. Test scores tick upward, and obesity rates decline. But dig deeper, and a troubling pattern emerges. The biggest improvements […]

Read more →
Mental health

65% of Migrants Report Loneliness—Why Communities Aren’t Ready

Loneliness has been called an “epidemic” by governments in the U.K., U.S., Japan, and elsewhere. It’s linked to depression, anxiety, cardiovascular disease, and even early mortality. For public health professionals, loneliness is not a soft social issue—it’s a modifiable risk factor with tangible health impacts. The Assyrian case is instructive because it reflects patterns found […]

Read more →
AI

Who Controls What AI Knows? The New Gatekeepers of Information

In the age of generative AI, not all information is created equal — or equally visible. A new analysis from Fractl reveals that a handful of publishers now dominate the “knowledge base” behind AI assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot. These partnerships between AI companies and major media outlets are reshaping who and what gets […]

Read more →
Implementation

17 Years: Why Communities Still Struggle to Put Research into Action

Across the U.S., health departments spend millions training providers, distributing toolkits, and launching new prevention programs. Yet, years later, adoption often lags. For example, clinics may struggle to integrate smoking cessation interventions despite robust evidence that they save lives. Why? Because programs don’t just need to work in theory—they must be delivered efficiently, affordably, and […]

Read more →

Get the public-health insights you need—
every Thursday morning.

We scan 70+ journals so you don't have to.
One email. Zero jargon. Unsubscribe anytime.

🔒 No spam. 1-click opt-out. Privacy-first.